After starting his first year on varsity, junior Evan Donesky said he was upset the season was cut short before Sections.

“There was such a little amount of games left in the season. And I feel we were very close to making it through the offseason. And also I wanted to play in our section again,” Donesky said.

When a boys’ basketball player tested positive for COVID-19, the boys’ junior varsity and varsity basketball teams’ seasons ended and players were asked to quarantine, according to athletic director Andy Ewald.

“They are supposed to quarantine (for 14 days) to keep themselves and everybody else safe and we encourage them to go get a test,” Ewald said.

In the preceding weeks, junior Gavin Thoe said the team followed COVID-19 guidelines as best as it could.

“It’s the smart decision to shut us down. Every time we practiced we all stayed safe with our masks up, socially distanced and cautious of each other,” Thoe said.

The beginning of the season was pushed back because of restrictions put into place by Gov. Tim Walz, so Ewald said players and families were just happy to have some type of a season.

“People have been disappointed, but they also get it and understand that ultimately our job first and foremost is to keep everyone as safe as possible, and trying to have sports happen during a global pandemic is a tough go,” Ewald said. “Most people are just happy that, especially with (the) boys’ basketball team, (we) made it through (almost) the entire season without missing any games or being shut down.”

Park returned to hybrid Feb. 22, which Donesky said could have contributed to the season-ending.

“I think we did an OK job as a team taking good precautions. It’s just the back-to-school thing. That’s all it was. We can’t just stop kids from learning. It’s just a tough situation,” Donesky said.

Thoe said he’s excited to return to school after the quarantine, so he can see his friends again.

“I’m really excited to come to school since they’re making us quarantine right now,” Thoe said. “It sucks we got our season ended, but I’m still happy I got to play at all since it wasn’t guaranteed.”